Book publishing: The third exhibition from the series “History of publishing houses and printing offices” opened at the Russian State Library

The Museum of Book of the Russian State Library (Moscow) hosted the third exhibition "Publishing houses of Ivan Yakovlevich Sytin in Smolensk and Orel" from the series "History of publishing houses and printing offices". Two previous: "Sea Cadet Corps and its printing in the XVIII century" and "90 years of the publishing house "Young Guard". Through the pages of books". At this time, several copies of the fund of rare books talk about the book business of Ivan Yakovlevich Sytin, published books for almost forty years in Smolensk and Orel. The exhibition includes a translated literature, natural science works, dramatic works, textbooks.

Publisher Ivan Yakovlevich Sytin (1765-1835) came from a city of merchants of the city of Karachev (up to 1778 the city was part of the Belgorod province, after 1778 became a district town of the province of Orel). First, in the years of 1791-1794 Sytin owned printing house in St. Petersburg, known for 43 editions that were printed in it. 

In 1795, due to increasing government censorship and the closing of the so-called freestyle printing, Ivan Yakovlevich was forced to leave the capital and settled in Smolensk, where he was engaged in publishing - acted as landlord of the publishing house of Smolensk Order of Public Welfare (provincial institutions introduced in Russia by Catherine II in 1775, in charge of the schools, hospitals, orphanages, hospitals, almshouses and prisons). In 1802, typography became the property of the publisher. Thanks to the efforts of Ivan Yakovlevich were printed and translated the works of many well-known foreign authors.

Sytin also organized in Smolensk the first bookstore and even represented his publications to the commission in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. From 1795 to 1812 his publishing house published about one hundred titles - a record figure for provincial printing of the time.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1812, both printing houses and the bulk of the books were destroyed. After 1812, although not immediately, the publishing activity of Ivan Sytin resumed. Shortly after the fire in Smolensk, which destroyed the house and the printing office, Ivan Yakovlevich moved to Orel, with representatives of the provincial government of which he had established publisher trade connections. Sytin began to publish books in the Provincial printing house, and since 1819 in parallel his own printing house started its work.

The printing house of Sytin released a translated literature, textbooks - for example, in 1819 he undertook the re-release of the magazine of N. I. Novikov "Children's reading for the heart and mind". Total specialists found 96 books published by Sytin in Orel in 1814-1830 years. All these books are available to readers in the reading room of the Museum of Book at the Russian State Library.